Politics

TDP claims to be the party of BCs, struggling to woo their votes

4 months ago
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TDP Jayaho BC

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) always refers to itself as the BCs party, claiming that it has provided more political opportunities to BCs than any other party in the Telugu States. They proudly highlight prominent BC leaders like the late Kinjarapu Yerrannaidu and Yanamala Ramakrishnudu in Andhra Pradesh, as well as Devender Goud and Talasani Srinivas Yadav in Telangana, who are considered products of the TDP school.

With 60% of the population in Andhra Pradesh being BCs, winning their vote bank is crucial for coming to power in the state. In the 2019 elections, BCs supported YSRCP, which won a significant number of seats, securing 151 out of 175, while TDP was limited to 23 seats. Now, TDP is placing a stronger focus on the BCs vote bank for the upcoming 2024 elections. The party has initiated the ‘Jayaho BC’ campaign and is promising a separate manifesto for BCs, and special act like SC/ST atrocity for the protection of BCs.

TDP Jayaho BC campaign

To reach BCs and win their confidence, Telugu Desam Party supremo Chandrababu Naidu launched the ‘Jayaho BC’ campaign on Thursday (January 4th) from the party’s central office in Mangalagiri. During this 40-day program, TDP campaign vehicles will cover all 25 Lok Sabha segments in the state, with two vehicles assigned to each constituency. Throughout the Jayaho BC campaign, TDP will conduct BC meetings at the mandal and assembly constituency levels.

Through these meetings, TDP will convey their priorities and focus on BCs’ development, explaining how the YSRCP government neglected BCs. In the launch meeting of ‘Jayaho BC,’ Naidu stated that TDP has given 20 percent reservations to BCs in local bodies, later increasing it to 34% during his tenure. Naidu added that the YSRCP government has reduced BC reservation to 24% from the previous 30%, resulting in 16,500 BC leaders losing political representation.

Also Read: Sharmila in AP Politics: Jagan Blames Naidu for Sibling Rivalry

Naidu’s Anti-BC statements in the past

In 2018, when Chandrababu Naidu was the Chief Minister, he threatened the Nayi Brahmins, who belong to the BCs, saying, “I will cut your tail,” as they demanded a minimum wage of Rs. 13,000 and PF. Statewide temple barbers went on strike at that time. When their association met the then Deputy CM, KE Krishnamurthy, and had discussions with him, some of their members shouted slogans against Chandrababu Naidu upon seeing his convoy at the secretariat. In response, Naidu got angry and warned them, saying, ” You do whatever you can do. If you try to threaten me, I will cut your tail. It will be serious if you act like this.’

In another case, Naidu faced severe criticism from BCs when he wrote letters to the central government, making allegations against two BC lawyers, Amarnath Goud and Abhinav Kumar, who were being considered for high court judge positions. The act of a chief minister writing letters to hinder the appointment of BC lawyers drew significant opposition from the BC community against Naidu. However, based on Intelligence Bureau (IB) reports, the central government found the allegations to be false and gave the green signal for the appointment of those BC lawyers as High Court judges.

What YSRCP did for BCs

As the TDP initiated the ‘Jayaho BC’ campaign, on the other side, YSRCP leaders are presenting data on what their government has accomplished for BCs in the last 4 and a half years. They claim that the YSRCP government has disbursed Rs. 1.15 lakh crores into the accounts of BCs through various welfare schemes. Including both DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) and Non-DBT, the government has provided a total of Rs. 1.65 lakh crores in benefits to BCs, they assert.

Additionally, they point out that in the Jagan government, a total of 11 ministers are from the BC community, including one deputy chief minister. They also highlight that out of the 9 Rajya Sabha members from YSRCP, 4 of them are BCs.

They emphasize that since the YSRCP government came into power, Nayi Brahmins have had the opportunity to become members of temple trust boards. The government issued a GO in 2023 stating that one member from the Nayi Brahmin community should be included in the temple trust boards. YSRCP leaders allege that, due to Naidu’s approach against increasing reservations to 33% for BCs in local bodies, it has come down to 24%. Despite that, Jagan has given priority to BCs in appointing mayors, municipal chairpersons, ZP chairpersons, and MPP posts.

This time, YSRCP is almost certain to give the ticket of hot seat Mangalagiri to BC leader Ganji Chiranjeevi from the Padmashali community.  During the 2019 elections, the YSRCP’s slogan for BCs, asserting that they are not just backward classes but the backbone of society, resonated with BCs and drew them towards the YSRCP. Now, the TDP and YSRCP are both focused on the BC vote bank, but whom BCs believe and support will be unfolded in the future.

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